


Sometimes the Only Medicine is Honesty

by Thefandomsaretakingovermylife



Series: Art [2]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Beth racking up a mental body count, F/M, Marion is mentioned but there's no Boomer because fuck that guy, Rio being an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 06:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20385121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefandomsaretakingovermylife/pseuds/Thefandomsaretakingovermylife
Summary: It can be so easy to lose yourself to love, or lust, or despair. Especially when your soulmate resurfaces after 17 years, holding a gun to your head.





	Sometimes the Only Medicine is Honesty

**Author's Note:**

> Can be read alone but for it to make perfect sense, go back and read the first part of this series.

“So, this what you been up to for the past couple of years? Living the white picket fence life with your husband and your kids?”

“Yeah. Been pretty great until recently. But then again, I’m guessing you know that already.”

His eyes traveled down to her neck for a split second then back up to her eyes, quickly noticing what was absent.

“He don’t know, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. And he doesn’t need to know. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any marks and it’s not like I need to be free of a soulmate to do whatever I want. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

“Still haven’t let that go, huh? It was years ago. Thought you would have moved on. But apparently, not even your husband can make you forget about me.”

“He may not be able to but my children sure do.”

“You sure about that, Ma?”

Beth was filled with rage.

For years she had tried her best to forget that her life was to be tangled with someone else's. She tried to forget that he didn’t love her, that he loved and was married to someone that wasn’t her and only God knows what has happened to them in the past 17 years. She was angry at him, sure, for not even letting them have a chance. But she was angry with herself more for letting herself care. She had done the one thing that everyone told her not to do since she first saw those black bars appear.

She fell in love with him. Or, more accurately, the thought of him, the version she made up in her head based on his messages and drawings.

Beth had imagined what life would have been like if he had not married Vanessa the first chance he got. Maybe they wouldn’t have worked out, but she liked to think that they would have. Her mind was racing with past assumptions; that he would have been this kind and loving man that would protect her, that he was waiting for her out there somewhere in the world, that he would have made her happy and given her the life she always wanted. Just them and their kids.

But here he was, standing right in front of her. A criminal from Detroit who by all means was the exact opposite of the Rio she thought he was. Her Rio used to leave her messages of encouragement when she was going through tough times and cheered her up when her mom disappointed her again with little pictures of things she liked. And during a brief time when she was 17, when she and Ruby had their biggest fight yet and stopped talked for months, he was her only friend, her one constant besides her sister.

This Rio has a gun in his hand and she is pretty sure, even though he knows who she is, that he would not hesitate to put a bullet through her head.

How could she have fallen for someone who has the ability to hurt someone else like that?

“Is that why you cover up those tats of yours? Scared to let those kids know you don’t really love their daddy? That the universe says you belong to someone else?”

Oh, yeah. That’s how.

She had forgotten the effect his voice had on her and she was reveling in the new added bonus that as his hand trailed over the back of her arm where those solid black bars reside, a shockwave was sent through her, a feeling that could only be described as heaven on earth.

It’s a shame, Beth thought, that he seems to be a downright dick.

“I cover them up, so I don’t have to think about you. Don’t want to be burdened with thoughts of someone who isn’t really there.” 

“And what about now that I am here? Gonna keep me as your dirty little secret?”

“What’s with all the questions? Starting to realize what you missed out on?”

“Boss, you gonna get rid of her? I need to know if I need to call the boys at the warehouse about a disposal.”

The added new voice startled the pair. Both of them had completely forgotten that with Rio, came two of his boys that, until now, were recently just standing in the kitchen, waiting for orders.

“Did I say I was gonna get rid of her? No. I fuckin’ didn’t. We’re gonna wait.”

“And what’s that? What exactly are you waiting for?”

He brought his eyes up to meet hers as she finished speaking.

“I need you to call your lady friends over so we can all have … a little talk.”

“About what?”

“Oh. About the money you stole from us.”

*******************************************************************************************************************************

“I met him”

“Met who, B? You gotta be more specific or else I’ll start to think you met God.”

“Rubes, I met _him_.”

Beth, putting extra emphasis on him, hoped beyond belief that Ruby would get the message without making her go into more detail. At this moment, she thinks having to actually say his name or think about him more than she has too would just be too much, especially under the circumstances.

“Oh, shit. You met your guy.”

“Yeah. And trust me, I really wish I didn’t.”

“Why? He an asshole or something? It would be just your luck to have a cheating husband and a jerk of a soulmate.”

“I’m sure once you get to know him, he’s fine. He’s just a prick when he’s threatening to kill me because we stole half a million dollars from him.”

“I’m sorry. What?”

“He let me go to collect you and Annie. We have to be back in a few hours. But yeah. All that extra money we got from the Fine & Frugal was his. Or at least, was supposed to be his. He didn’t really go into detail, but I think it’s some really fucked up laundering scheme.”

“Shit, welcome to the trip man.”

“Yeah, really.”

“He actually threatened you?”

“Well, not in so many words. But there was a gun in his hand and one of his henchman type people asked if he was ‘gonna get rid of her’ and this may be a wild guess, but I’m kinda thinking her is me!”

“That sounds like some shady business goin’ on.”

She felt like she was going crazy. How was this her life she was given? She finally felt like she had some type of control over her life for the first time in years and now she may not even live until tomorrow. Ruby was right. This whole situation was extremely shady.

Dean had constricted her life ever since the two had gotten married. He chose what she could do with her life, chose which activities were best for her, decided who she was allowed to have in her life. And for 17 years she put with it. Ever since she started dating Dean, she let him control every aspect of who she was because of what he could give her; a home, stability, her family. Now, the second she stood up for herself, took her life in her own hands, and felt like she could finally breathe, someone else came and fucked up her vision of who she could be.

She didn’t need this. She didn’t need him, bossing her around, telling her what to do.

Beth wasn’t going to stand for it.

“Look, I’m gonna ask you something and please, don’t take this the wrong way. Are you sure it was him? You’re not just imagining it?”

Instead of answering Ruby, Beth took her by the hand, led her into the bathroom, and began rifling through her cabinets and drawers until she found what she was looking for; a package of makeup wipes.

“What are we doing in here? Don’t you think we’re a little old to be going to the washroom in pairs?”

“Just… be quiet. Watch.”

Beth took one of the towels, gently wiped away the thick layer of makeup she had expertly applied that morning from her neck, and thin black lines she has spent hours memorizing began to appear. Soon, the bird she began to dread seeing became fully visible. When the entire eagle was clear, she slowly took off the cardigan she was barely seen without, putting on display the thick black bars and a myriad of other small tattoos that were scattered across her arms and shoulders.

“Fuck, B.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it was him.”

********************************************************************************************************************

“We didn’t know you owned the store.” 

Beth, taking the full four hours that Rio had given her to locate Ruby and Annie, had returned to her house with the other girls in tow, terrified of what might be waiting for her on the other side of her front door. It is one thing to have a gun held to your head, but it is another entirely when the person holding the gun is tied to you in some epically fucked up version of soulmate roulette.

There was a time in her life when Beth thought that if given the choice, she would have taken a bullet for Rio. Now, the person that she’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger. She’s frightened that he might actually decide to take her life and she’s horrified that she still feels some sort of connection to him. She’s drawn to him and she doesn’t know how to stop it.

She doesn’t know if she wants to stop it.

Sitting in front of him, listening to him go on about her backsplash, all it does is solidify the confusion.

How can he make something so mundane seem so terrifying? And why does all this seem like a game? Why does it feel fun?

She has a million questions running through her mind, absolutely zero answers, and all the determination in the world to find them. She lied to herself earlier. Maybe she would stand for it if it meant getting those answers.

“I look like some kinda grocery store manager to you? Or, like, Rotary club or something? No, let’s just say that we got certain arrangements with some local businesses. And that we help each other out and whatnot. You know?”

No, she most certainly did not know. Beth couldn’t help but wonder what certain arrangements even meant. Was all this really just some elaborate plan to launder thousands of dollars or does this scheme go so much deeper than that?

“Like…money laundering for drugs?” Ruby pulled her eyes away from the man in front of them and shifted slightly from her place to the left of Beth and Annie to look more directly at her best friend. “I told you it was shady.”

“Why don’t you stop worrying about my business dealings and start figuring how you’re gonna pay me my money back.”

“We can get it back.”

Beth was thinking on her toes. She had no way of knowing if she had any way to escape with her life right now, and if she could get him to think for long enough that they could pull off what he wanted then, maybe, just maybe, she could buy herself some time to piece together some sort of bullshit plan.

Dean had left her with practically no money. He had forced her to quit her job years ago, after she had Kenny, so she had no way to gain income that was her own and the dealership was lucky if it sold a car a day. 

In short, she was screwed. 

“Oh, that would be great. So, we’ll see you real soon, yeah? You know, you’ve really got to be careful, ladies.”

***************************************************************************************************************************************

Beth was going to kill her sister. She had said that so many times over her lifetime, but this time she meant it.

How could she have spent so much money so quickly and why could she, for the love of God, not keep her mouth shut? Just once, she wants Annie to think before she tells a violent gang member that she spent his money and can’t get it back.

If she wants to, like really tries hard to, she can blame most of this on her sister. It’s her fault that she spent the money when Beth and Ruby told her not to. Sure, Beth isn’t totally blameless but the money she gave Amber seems so small compared to Annie’s one hundred grand. It’s Annie’s fault that she ended up in some old ladies’ apartment, looking for something to steal so she could pay off Rio. Annie is the one who stole the hummels and convinced her to try to sell that to the gang as a plus. It is her fault that Bullet is currently screwing on a silencer so he can shoot the three of them.

Beth could blame her sister. But she won’t. It was just a cascading failure.

It was inevitable.

All of this was just how her life was supposed to go. She just wished she knew that this is what it meant to have Rio in her life. In all the ways she imagined them meeting and getting to know each other in real life, without the use of colour-coded messages on their skin, him calmly sitting on his phone across from her while his guys tore apart her place to make her murder look like a home invasion gone wrong didn’t even make the list.

Fuck.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

“Kenny, go inside!”

“Listen to Mama, Kenny.”

He had crossed a line. If he wanted to go after her, fine, she can handle him. She had known him for years after all. But don’t he dare go anywhere near her kids.

Hadn’t he heard that the scariest thing was a pissed off mother?

“You know you should really get him a tutor, right?”

Fuck this guy. Who was he to tell her how to raise her kids?

“You want the rest of the money? We’ll get it.”

“Nah, let’s forget all that.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Keep thinking about what you said. About being a basic bitch and whatnot.”

Beth wanted to bitch slap him. In her mind, it’s only fair. He called her a bitch, so she gets to bitch slap him. Seems reasonable. But she won’t. It’s not like she has a death wish. But, she thought, what a way to go.

“That’s not exactly what I said.”

“Maybe there’s something you could help me out with.”

“What’s that?”

It took Rio a few seconds to respond like he couldn’t help but try and build suspense.

“You ladies got passports?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You’re gonna take your girls and head up to Canada on Friday. Got a guy up there who’s gonna hook you up with a package. Better if you don’t know what it is. Real short trip. Shouldn’t take you more than a few hours.”

“What are the chances of any of us getting arrested?”

Rio brought his head up to look Beth in the eyes.

“Slim to none if you do it right.”

“And if we do this, we’re done, right? You’ll forget about the money?”

He slowly nodded his head to show his agreement. There was no way she was even going to consider something like this without the assurance that she would never have to see him again.

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

“Of course it is. There’s nothing I want more.”

Throughout their short conversation, the two had drifted closer and closer to where, now, they were just a few inches apart. Rio gently brought up his right hand and with his pinky finger, brushed her bangs out of her face, his hand lingering on her for a few seconds longer than necessary, both of them noticing the shock that rolled through them at the first sign of physical contact. For a second during this messed up interaction, Beth thought that if he just leaned in a little bit closer, then maybe he would try to kiss her. It would make sense. Their whole relationship was messed up. She hated that he could get under her skin so easily. She hated that she didn't hate it. 

“We’ll see about that.”

He dropped his hand back down to his side and took a step back to put some distance between them. That's all it took to break the spell that they were under. 

“Don’t fuck it up, eh, Elizabeth.”

She couldn’t stop the thrill that ran through her body at the sound of her name coming out of his mouth.

*************************************************************************************************************************

Beth was going to kill Annie and Ruby this time.

How hard is it to not shoot someone in the foot? And wouldn’t it be common sense to not sync your phone to the car that you stole?

Those thoughts have been on repeat in her head for the past few days since their trip to Canada for the cash disguised as wrapping paper.

Everything was getting to be too much. They shot a man. Well, Ruby shot a man, but she was an accomplice! She smuggled thousands of dollars of counterfeit cash into the country and got away with it! And, on top of the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she had Dean trying to convince her they should stay together because of the cable bill, which is the dumbest reason she had ever heard of to not get divorced.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to do something that made her feel like she was in control again. She wanted to make her own decisions for once and damn anyone who told her it was wrong. At least, that’s what she told herself as she drove across town to that warehouse number five, where she last saw Rio. And that’s what was going through her mind as she unclasped her pearl necklace from around her neck and placed it on the doorknob.

That necklace had been a gift from Dean for their five-year anniversary. She had opened that box and thought that was the last thing she needed to complete her look as the perfect housewife. She felt she was handing over the life she had wanted in exchange for this seemingly picturesque life that was slowly killing her. She hated that necklace.

Now she was going to use it to take back her life. That’s how she justified it in her head for days as she waited…and waited…and waited.

Until finally…

“You know the tradition is Jordans over a phone line, right?”

“I only had pumps.”

“Fair enough.” 

Her eyes drifted down to the eagle sitting proudly on his neck, the bird that too sat on her’s. She could feel the tension between them, the unspoken chemistry that they shared. It was what made her come back. The need to know if this life, one with Rio in it, could give her that feeling that she had been searching for all through 15 years of marriage.

“So, what did you wanna talk to me about?”

“It’s pretty simple actually. I want another job.”

A small chuckle escaped Rio, floating up to Beth’s ears like an unsung melody just waiting to be discovered. A slight smile graced his lips.

“I knew you couldn’t stay away. Welcome back, mama.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! The title comes from the song Shallow and series title from the song Art both by Sean Grandillo. This has been proofread but I am only human and without a Beta.


End file.
